Copycat Brownie Bites

Hello and Happy Friday to y'all!! Yay the weekend is finally upon us! Hopefully this Midwest cold snap will be over soon so I can get back outside. In the meantime, I guess I'll stay inside and bake.

So, the other day, yet again my weird obsession with all things chocolate and peanut butter hit me. But I was again stuck with the question of what to make to satisfy the craving?! 

As weird as it sounds, I had seen a package of brownie bites at a gas station and couldn't get them out of my head. Since I was being lazy didn't need to leave the house, I decided to try and make my own instead...of course making mine with peanut butter. So here are my Copycat Brownie Bites...stuffed with Peanut Butter! 

First I followed the recipe on my Nestle Cocoa Powder to make my yummy brownies.

Then I made a fun peanut butter mixture to stuff in the middle.

And last, I mixed up a yummy cream cheese icing for the top! 

I've nicknamed these "Death by Tiny Chocolates" because I can't stop eating them! And I don't want to, because they're so small and innocent...and amazing!

Ingredients:
1 2/3 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
2 Tbsp water
2 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 Cup baking cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup peanut butter
1/2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 Cup powdered sugar
1/3 Cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Icing:
4oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl combine together the peanut butter and butter until there are no clumps. Add in the powdered sugar, brown sugar and vanilla and stir until completely mixed together. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini muffin pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Stir in the water, then the eggs one at a time until fully mixed together. Add the vanilla.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the wet ingredients until there are hardly any clumps left.

Fill each muffin cup until there's just a couple centimeters showing at the top. I did this three times and ended up with 36 brownie bites.

Roll together 1/2 tsp size balls of the peanut butter mixture and smash it into the middle of the brownie.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool. I set mine in the pan on a cooling rack for a couple minutes, then popped them out and let them finish on the rack while the next batch cooked.

For Icing:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in your mixer on high until there are no lumps left. Add in the sugar and vanilla and any food coloring you may want. 

Add to a piping bag and frost the tops of your bites once they are cooled. Or just grab a knife and glob it on there!

Refrigerate for later, or devour as many as you can now! I've had them warm and cold and both are equally amazing! I must say, I think these are even better than the ones you find at the gas station :)

Do you have any weird cravings that you just can't get enough of sometimes? Got any great chocolate/peanut butter recipes I should try? Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

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